– IFL ANNOUNCES TITLE FIGHTS, TEAM MATCH-UPS

MMAWeekly.com
The International Fight League recently crowned champions in five separate weight classes. On Tuesday the promotion announced the first title defenses for three of its champions on a fight card set to take place in Las Vegas on Feb. 29.

Matt Horwich, who won the middleweight title in stunning fashion over Benji Radach, will return to the ring to defend his belt against Tim Kennedy.

Kennedy is coming off of a win at the same Dec. 29 show in which Horwich won the title. On that night, Kennedy knocked out Elias Rivera to win his third fight in three appearances in the IFL.

Also, Roy Nelson, the IFL heavyweight champion, will step in to face former Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight Fabiano Scherner, who is now training with Team Quest to prepare for the bout.

Lightweight champion Ryan Schultz will look to defend his title against John Gunderson in a clash of top 155-pound fighters, as well.

The IFL also announced team match-ups for the same card featuring a team fielded by Xtreme Couture against Mario Sperry’s new MMA Top Team, while Matt Lindland’s Team Quest squad faces Ken Shamrock’s Lion’s Den.

Benji Radach, formerly of Bas Rutten’s team in Los Angeles, will now represent Xtreme Couture, but no opponent was named as of yet.

Other competitors on the card include Pat Healy and Marcello Salazar, as well as a featherweight fight between former teammates Ian Loveland and Dennis Davis.

Also, IFL welterweight champion Jay Hieron stated that he will likely return in April to face Mark Miller for his title, but no official announcement has been made yet.